Not The Escape She Was Looking For
by yellow 14
Summary: Tired of constantly fighting the Guardians and hiding, Miranda seeks to hide as far away as she can, in the city of Paris no less.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.

AN: When I discovered that there were no ML/WITCH crossovers, I was surprised. After all, Thomas Astruc began work on the idea after seeing a woman wearing a t-shirt with a ladybug on it while working on W.I.T.C.H. So this was born.

Miranda scowled as she looked in distaste at her new apartment.

Well, apartment would be pushing the definition somewhat. A more appropriate description would be cupboard in her opinion. A single room that was barely two and a half metres by two and a half metres with a (worn) mattress on a bed, a sink and a wardrobe. Still, it was somewhere to stay at least and it was far away from Meridian and the Guardians and all the other crap in her life. A whole ocean away in fact.

With a sigh, she threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling as she allowed her mind to wander. It had been what, eight years now since she had first encountered the Guardians? Yeah, eight years. Eight years of fighting and hiding and deceiving and plotting. Eight years too long really. Even the strongest of hatreds and dedications can grow tired and stale. And Miranda's had grown so very stale.

She sat up and looked at the room one more time. It was cramped and small compared to her old rooms at the palace and there were certainly no servants for her to call on should she desire, but maybe she could make a new life here.

Standing up, Miranda made her way out the door and to the nearest window. The view wasn't much to talk about either, just another run down apartment building. Then again, the view from her room when she was in the palace was little better. In fact, she'd have to say this was an improvement and stars alone knew that, as far hiding places went, this was one of the better ones she'd been in. And with the Guardians busy searching for her in Meridian or possibly Heatherfield, she was safe.

"Hi there," a man said from behind her and Miranda turned to look at the owner of the voice. "You're the new resident, aren't you? The one who just moved into 21b?"

"Yes, I am," she said as she leaned back against the window frame and folded her arms. The owner of the voice was a skinny young man with short blonde hair, blue eyes and absolutely no muscles, no threat to her. He grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Welcome to our little corner of Paris. I hope you like it here," he said with a smile and Miranda nodded slightly. "We're not the wealthiest of neighbourhoods, but we are welcoming."

"Thank you," Miranda said as she examined the young man. "I'm Miranda. And you are?"

"My apologies mademoiselle. I am Thomas Compere. I am in the apartment next to your own while I study at the university of Paris," he said with a bow. Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know a way to the roof of this building?" Miranda asked with a smile. "After six months working aboard a tramp freighter, I would like to see the city from something that isn't constantly moving."

"But of course my dear," Thomas said with a smile as he pointed towards the stairs. "If you go to the top floor, there is a green door that will allow you to go on the roof. Allow me to show you the way."

Miranda smiled and shook her head.

"Merci monsieur, but I would prefer to do this alone," she told him, before looking Thomas in the eye. "Perhaps another time, yes?"

"Of course. But, forgive me for saying this, if you really wish to see Paris, there are better places to see the city and better times."

"Well why don't you show me around?" Miranda asked with a smile. "When are you free?"

Thomas blushed and Miranda resisted the urge to chuckle. Despite everything, she still had it.

"Well mademoiselle, I am free from my studies this Saturday," he said and Miranda smiled.

"Saturday would be wonderful. Shall we meet here at eleven in the morning?" she asked and Thomas nodded. "Then I will see you there."

"But of course. Ah, but forgive me, I know not your name."

"I'm Miranda," she said with a smile. "And thank you."

Climbing to the top of the stairs took less time than she expected and just as Thomas had described, there was a green door. She stepped out and allowed the air to caress her gently. She could smell the pollution, revel in the noise that sounded below and even enjoy the lights of the city. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower stood tall and proud as it watched over Paris. Yet another reminder that her old life and her old home were far away. For a moment, a wave of homesickness rolled over her.

"Don't be so weak," she hissed to herself. This was her home now, far from her past and her nightmares. With a shrug, she transformed into her spider-like form and leapt across the rooftops. Maybe this would help.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own.

AN: In my last chapter, I mistakenly claimed that I was the only person to have thought of a Miraculous/WITCH crossover. And while that was correct when I started writing it, by the time I posted this story, there was another crossover already up.

"So who else is left?" Will asked in a slightly weary voice. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at the group sitting in front of her. "What? I can't be the only one fed up of chasing these creeps all around Meridian?"

"And Heatherfield!" Hay Lin chimed in cheerfully and Irma chuckled.

"Tut, tut Will, fancy forgetting our little town. You should know better than that," Irma said with a smirk. Will rolled her eyes.

"Don't mind my fiance," Cornelia drawled in amusement. "She likes to think she's funny."

"And still you said yes," Irma said as she leaned over to her fiance. Will sighed.

"Guys, can we focus on the task at hand. Duty first, fun second," she said and Cornelia and Irma gave her identical looks of disappointment. It was slightly unnerving really.

Or at least it would be if they hadn't done this a dozen times before. Will just rolled her eyes.

"Can we get on with it?" Taranee said with a frown as she hunched over her homework. "I still have a paper to finish."

"This is important!" Caleb snapped with a hint of annoyance. "Each and every one of these criminals is reason for concern!"

"I'm well aware of that Caleb. But we all have real lives outside of our Guardian duties," Taranee replied with a slight growl. "And it's not like we can just say we're off on Guardian duty."

"Yeah, Grandma would be so disappointed if we accidentally revealed Candracar to the world," Hay Lin said as she leaned placed a plate of fortune cookies in the centre of the table. "Besides Caleb, we're only meeting now because it's between the lunchtime rush and the dinnertime rush."

Caleb sighed. It was so much easier when the girls were younger and had fewer worries.

"Perhaps we should see what the fortune cookies tell us," Irma said with a grin as she picked up a fortune cookie. Breaking it in two, she quickly read the note inside.

"Hmmm...you don't need strength to let go of you really need is understanding," she gave Caleb a pointed look. "Could this be a hint perhaps?"

"These criminals are hardly going away," Caleb replied with a growl. "They have the potential-"

"We've caught all of the big fish with the exception of Miranda," Cornelia pointed out with a stretch. "All we've got are little fish, barely worth our time."

"Are we sure Miranda is likely to be a threat? I mean, her own people have agreed to turn her over to us if she shows up in their territory, the Lurdens have sworn allegiance to Elyon and are busy building the Prime Meridian railway between Meridian's cities and her allies are mostly gone," Taranee asked as she looked over her glasses. "It would take years for her to create a unified threat in my opinion."

"And if you're wrong? We cannot become complacent about this!" Caleb snapped with a hint of frustration.

"We're still training twice a week," Taranee replied. "And the Meridian security forces are keeping watch all over Meridian for her. If they can't find her in Meridian, we certainly aren't. And what if we miss seeing a new threat because we're too busy looking for Miranda and the small fry?"

"Yeah, we didn't even see the Rangorlang trouble until it was almost too late," said Will with a slight frown and all five girls shuddered. That had been a very...trying time indeed.

Hay Lin's phone made a sudden ping sound and she looked down.

"Oooh, it's the latest English update on the Ladyblog!" she said excitedly, her eyes lighting up. Will sighed. Candracar had been very specific about not getting involved with the current mess in Paris. Apparently the affairs of Miraculous users were very specific.

"Ooooh, Alya's got footage of the latest akuma," Hay Lin paused and frowned. "He looks a lot like Gargoyle. Only he's blue! And...are those green horns?"

She pulled out a sheet of paper and began sketching.

Caleb sighed. What he really needed was something concrete to get the girls attention.

WITCHMLWITCHMLWITCHMLWITCHMLWITCHMLWITCHML

Miranda smiled as she stepped out into the Parisian sun. The sun was shining, the city was beautiful and most importantly, nobody paid her any attention whatsoever.

In short, almost nothing like Meridian under Phobos's rule.

She watched as her neighbour ran after a bus and smiled to herself.

Never saw those in Meridian either. For some reason, the thought made her laugh.

"It's nice to know that my misfortune is so amusing to you mademoiselle," he said in an amused tone. Miranda shrugged.

"You wouldn't get it," she told him as she pressed the button at the crossing.

"Oh I think I might," he said cheerfully and Miranda chuckled. The idea of Thomas on Meridian amused her for some reason.

"Oh it's just...something from home. You wouldn't really understand unless you were from there."

"Ah mademoiselle, you wound me so," Thomas said dramatically and Miranda chuckled once more. "Smiling suits you mademoiselle far better than scowling."

Miranda actually blushed and looked away. Which was ridiculous if you asked her. Being complimented on something as shallow as her looks? She felt she should have been angry, furious even.

Instead, the compliment was...nice.

"Thank you," she said after a short pause. "You know, back home, missing buses isn't something we really see."

"Oh? Is it that remote that you never see them?" he asked and Miranda smiled.

"Something like that," she said, her mind wandering back to Meridian. "It's...very different from here."

"Such as buses that never turn up?" he asked teasingly and Miranda chuckled once more.

"Something like that," she said and Thomas smiled.

"I'm sure you'll fit in just fine," he said with a smile. "After all, you already speak perfect French, so that's your first step already."

"I had a lot of time to study coming over here," she said almost nonchalantly. (She was hardly going to tell him that her species of shapeshifter could instantly learn a language overnight. Somehow she didn't think that Parisians would be any happier with shapeshifters that their Meridian counterparts.)

"You must have been a quick learner," he said as they crossed the street.

"Just a talent I guess," she said with a shrug. "I've always been good with languages."

"Well I hope your day is a good one," he said as the two of them parted company. Miranda waved as he walked further down the street, before looking up at her new place of work. Licking her lips, she stepped into Le Grand Paris.


End file.
